THE INTERNATIONAL DEMS BULLETIN DUKE ELLINGTON MUSIC SOCIETY 06/2 August - November 2006 Our 28th Year of Publication. FOUNDER: BENNY AASLAND HONORARY MEMBER: FATHER JOHN GARCIA GENSEL EDITOR: SJEF HOEFSMIT ASSISTED BY: ROGER BOYES

Voort 18b, 2328 Meerle, Belgium
Telephone: +32 3 315 75 83
Email: dems@skynet.be

The Complete Columbia 1947 - 1952 recordings on CD.

DEMS 06/2-19

See DEMS 06/1-16

Further investigation revealed the following: Track 13 on Volume 1 of the "New & revised Edition" (486642 2, with 20 tracks, so called second version) has You Gotta Crawl Before You Walk.
Track 15 has Maybe I Should Change My Ways from 1oct47 with Ray Nance on trumpet, but not, as might be expected, HCO 2665 take -1, but the alternate take without a take number, which was released on Up to Date LP 2002. In the New DESOR it has number 4723d. If you have not yet made the correction in the New DESOR, you should replace unissued after 4723e with the release number Co 1-331. This take could have been expected on the revised edition. One wonders if Columbia has used their own material, or if they have copied from Up to Date, which could explain the wrong date of 2oct47 in the liner notes.
On track 17 is the same title recorded 6oct47 with Ray Nance on violin. As might be expected it is the same take as was used for the first edition (the five volume set), HCO 2665 take -2, in DESOR 4727b.
Remco Plas

Dusk on the Desert

DEMS 06/2-20

See DEMS 06/1-18

Having followed the protracted discussion of the mystery soloist in Dusk on the Desert, I want to confirm what I have stated previously and also set the record straight once and for all. There are a number of misconceptions and uncorroborated assertions that I think should be corrected.
I think we should accept that Lawrence Brown is definitely not the soloist. It is a trumpet. The original manuscripts, Kurt Dietrich, Steven Lasker, myself and many others agreed on this, even if there is still argument over whether it is Cooty, Rex or another. Kurt (DEMS 05/2-25) spelled out very clearly why it could not be a trombone for technical and tonal reasons. Steven Lasker has made similar comments, and there really should be no question that it is a trumpet. In DEMS 05/3-37 David Berger mentions that he no longer has copies of the original manuscripts after previously stating in DEMS 05/2-25 that source material indicated Brown as the soloist. But by then Kurt had been convinced by this assertion that the soloist was Brown. He was correct the first time and should not have changed his mind. There simply is no source material that I know of indicating Brown as soloist. Quite the contrary.
As far as I can tell, only two pages of the score to Dusk on the Desert were previously catalogued until I located the other four pages and a full set of band parts (missing Hodges and the bass) under the title Jamming and Jiving. In DEMS 05/3-37, David Berger wonders whether I (DEMS 04/3-13) was referring to a small group arrangement. I wrote that contribution only one week after I returned from the Smithsonian Institution having identified those particular manuscripts. The discovery of more manuscripts to Dusk on the Desert was one of the specific goals of that visit and was achieved by my attempting to locate any titles similar to Jammin' and Jubin', a title that appears in some references. It's hardly surprising that I found my answer in the form of Jamming and Jiving. I believe I was the first person to reunite all six pages of the score. They relate completely and only to the composition scored for the full orchestra which we are discussing.
The two pages known prior to my discovery show only the last 38 bars of the piece and can give no clues as to the solo in the first chorus. They are titled Dusk on the Desert by means of a type-written sticky label on one page. No doubt if one were to peel off the label one might see Jamming and Jiving in Duke's hand underneath. Who stuck the label on?
The four new pages of score begin with the first chorus. The 8-bar introduction appears at the bottom of the fourth page. The first chorus has Juan Tizol playing with the saxophones. In the recording he blends very well - you might even think there were five reed players. I have stated this before. The score clearly states "Cooty rest" here. It is written "Cooty" not "Cootie". The brass ensemble playing 'call and response' with the saxophone/Tizol ensemble is written for three trumpets and two trombones. The set of parts suggest that (at the time they were written) the three other trumpeters were Wetz, Freddy and Rex. Whetsel is indicated as playing lead trumpet throughout. Incidentally, we have already determined that there were three trombonists present throughout that session of 20th September 1937 despite some references that suggested only two. The presence of three is very clear from all of the recordings that day.
One interesting thing about the score for Jamming and Jiving is that Cooty was not originally intended to play the solo line over the first chorus at all! He was supposed to rest until the second chorus, which contained the saxophone line that appears in the second half of the second chorus on the recording we know. The third written chorus is the muted brass with clarinet ad lib, but for the recording Ellington merged the second and third together by going straight into the brass chorus after the first but adding the second half of the saxophone line over the second half of this brass chorus. In doing this he must also have decided that the solo trumpet part would best appear over the first chorus.
Kurt Dietrich (DEMS 05/2-25) was incorrect in his analysis of the 8-bar introduction: "In the introduction...all of the trumpets are muted except for the bottom one..." It is in fact the *second* trumpet which is not muted, not the bottom one. Whose is the second trumpet part? Cooty Williams of course. He - or whoever was playing that part on the day - was not using the same mute as the others because he had to go straight into the solo after the 8-bar introduction and would not have had time to remove the mute!
In conclusion, there is absolutely no question that the solo instrument is a trumpet and that it was played by whoever was reading the band part assigned to Cooty Williams. Duke's original score intends Cooty as the soloist and gives a cast iron alibi to all three trombonists and the other three trumpeters.
If we accept that Duke may have changed his mind about the soloist and asked them to swap parts, we are still left with the question of which of the four trumpeters it was. I was very taken by Richard Bambach's detailed comparison (DEMS 05/3-37) of the styles of Cooty and Rex. Perhaps this may convince more people that the soloist is Cooty Williams? I have not consciously studied their techniques in such a meticulous fashion so would hesitate to draw such a confident conclusion myself. I can, however, tell that it is a trumpet and not a trombone.
Michael Kilpatrick

John or Johnny

DEMS 06/2-21

See DEMS 06/1-20

I got Johnny's autograph from the 1939 tour in Stockholm. There he signed his name "John Hodges".
Göran Wallén

Arab Dance

DEMS 06/2-22

See DEMS 05/3-41

I was interested in Roger Boyes' added information re Arab Dance and the Thornhill and Ellington arrangements. I agree with him that perhaps there are echoes of Ko-Ko from the start in the Evans arrangement for Thornhill, and not just the explicit quotation towards the end. You can also turn that around and say that there are perhaps echoes of Tchaikovsky's original Arab Dance in Ko-Ko itself from the start. In which case Evans brought things full circle in his arrangement.
Don Francis

Mosaic Records MCD-1001
Duke Ellington's Spacemen: The Cosmic Scene

DEMS 06/2-23

See DEMS 06/1-30

As first discovered by Richard Ehrenzeller and shared with his friends through the Duke-LYM list: Bassment is the more original and more complete recording, made on 3Apr58. It is by no way an alternate take from the one we all know from the previous releases, but it has a 12 bars introduction by Jimmy Woode, which must have been deleted without being used for the LP and the first CD version. It is also a great improvement that this CD is in stereo. One wonders why this stereo recording was not used for the earlier releases since it evidently existed at the time.
DEMS

Goutelas, 25Feb66

DEMS 06/2-24

It is 40 years ago now since Duke gave a recital for his friends in Goutelas. Symphonie pour un Monde Meilleur (New World a-Comin') and a Medley with eight selections. The recital was recorded and came out on a 10" 78rpm in 1966, produced by Jean Piazzano. In a French Jazz Magazine it was suggested that this recording had never been released on CD. In the Mai 2006 edition this statement was corrected. An attentive reader reported that the CD is available under the title "1966. Duke à Goutelas". The quality is excellent. The CD can be obtained for 17 Euro's (including mailing expenses) at the Centre Culturel du Château de Goutelas, 42130 Marcoux in France. Telephone 04 77 97 35 42. If you buy a CD you support at the same time the maintenance of the castle, restoration of which started in 1960 and continued after Duke's visit as he described it in MIMM in a special chapter. You can see the condition in which the castle is now on the web-site www.multimania.com/chateaugoutelas on which also 15 pictures from that memorable day in Feb66 are reproduced.
Jean Carbonnel

This recital was also released on a KVP 12" LP in a limited edition and later came out on the Storyville CD Masters of Jazz Vol. 6 STCD 4106. On this Storyville CD was also the Goodyear session of 6Jan62 (see DEMS 85/1-3). Later the recital was again released on the CD West Wind 2077 which was filled up with 9 selections taken from the LP Up to Date 2009 (see DEMS 97/3-14). Storyville has re-released the CD Masters of Jazz STCD 4106 under the title Masters of Jazz Vol. 1 but now with 9 additional selections (see DEMS 06/2-40).
DEMS

The Revival of "Jump for Joy"

DEMS 06/2-25

I read that bio of Strayhorn ["Lush Life"] a couple of months ago. Is the guy who wrote it [David Hajdu] reachable (or alive)? He refers to the 1960 Florida production of "Jump for Joy" as not existing in any form, and that's the one I have on a professionally recorded acetate.
Friend of Andrew Homzy

Hi Andrew. Your friend is right. In Jan59 there was a stage show recorded in Copa City at Miami Beach of the revival version of "Jump for Joy". The recording survived. David Hajdu on page 186 is wrong with his statement: "None of the music written for the production was recorded." By the way reviews of the actual show are in the Feb59 Newsletter of the DEJS in Hollywood. See "In a Mellotone" Vol 6, No 4, Winter 2001.
The personnel involved: Cat Anderson, Harold Baker, Clark Terry, Ray Nance, Britt Woodman, Quentin Jackson, John Sanders, Jimmy Hamilton, Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney, Duke Ellington, Jimmy Woode, Sam Woodyard. Barbara McNair, Jimmy Randolph, Timmie Rogers, Norma Miller, The Winners, and an un-identified female choir.
This is on the record: When I Trilly with My Filly;
Medley: Don't Get Around Much Anymore, Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me, In a Sentimental Mood, Mood Indigo, I'm Beginning To See the Light, Sophisticated Lady, Just Squeeze Me, It Don't Mean a Thing, Solitude, Things Ain't What They Used To Be;
Walk It Off; Brown-Skin Gal; Cotton Tail; Bad Woman (So the Good Book Says); Strictly for Tourists; Show 'Em You Got Class; Three Shows Nightly
DEMS

Gordon Ewing's plans for a plaque at Sturgis Auditorium

DEMS 06/2-26

Duke Ellington gave his last performance at the Sturgis-Young Auditorium in our town, Sturgis Michigan and years ago someone said that they were going to put up a plaque there. According to your web site is that someone you? To the best of my knowledge this never happened and we would be honored to have this, as a valued part of our local history on display in the Sturgis-Young Auditorium and Civic Center. Please contact me.
Linda Winkens, Vice-President of the Sturgis Historical Society

You are right. Duke Ellington was on stage for the last time in Sturgis at the City Auditorium where he played two concerts on 22Mar74. Recordings of these concerts have never been found.
I think I know who came forward with the proposal to put a plaque at the spot. It was Gordon Ewing, who was quite upset about the fact that it was claimed that Duke was on stage for the last time at the Kalb University.
This is what Gordon wrote in DEMS Bulletin 90/1:
Many people believe that the last public appearance of Duke occurred on 20Mar74 at Northern Illinois university in De Kalb. In fact there is a room, in the Student Center, called the "Duke Ellington Ballroom" and there is a plaque just outside that room declaring that this was the site of Duke's last performance. However no one seems to have read the Mercer-Dance Book which in this case correctly states that Duke last played two concerts on 22 March in Sturgis, MI. Mercer refers to the auditorium as a "firehouse" kind of place. Actually it is a very fine building. I drove over to Sturgis several months ago, met the present manager and talked to an Ed Smoker, who worked backstage and remembers having to provide a cot for Duke in his dressing room and bringing him a six-pack of Coke. There were two concerts, at 7 and 9 pm. I am going ahead with a plan to have a plaque placed on this building, a project to which the Board of the Auditorium agrees enthusiastically.
Gordon Ewing.

Gordon died ten years ago. It is a pity that his plans for a plaque have never materialised.
Maybe there are readers of DEMS Bulletin willing to make a donation towards a plaque at Sturgis Auditorium. We will be happy to co-ordinate the collection of donations to help make Gordon's plans come to fruition. DEMS starts the collection with a donation of $ 100.-. Who will join us?
DEMS

I have just found out that the Mayor of Sturgis and the City Commissioners have approved $2,500.00 for this project. The funds apparently are coming from the City of Sturgis. They are designing and will order a plaque to be placed at the Sturgis-Young Auditorium. I don't know what it will look like or have any more details at this time because they are handling it. They may even put other notable things on it and not have it only Duke Ellington.
At this point in time I don't believe that donations are needed. :-) I do sincerely appreciate the offer and when we find out when the plague will be dedicated, perhaps you or someone would like to be present? As members of the Historical Society some of us will be sure to be there.
Linda Winkens

DEMS Bulletin is published three times a year, on the first of April, August and December. If I know the date of the unveiling early enough I will certainly encourage the readers in Michigan to attend the ceremony. I will also publish it immediately on the Duke-LYM list which arrives in many Ellington devotees' e-mail boxes immediately. I very much appreciate that you have contacted me and I am excited that one of the many dreams of my dear friend Gordon Ewing may become reality.
Sjef Hoefsmit

I will let you know when they have set up a date for this. We are excited about this too and wish you nothing but the best, too.
Linda Winkens

Squeeze Me

DEMS 06/2-27

Someone noticed that Squeeze Me, on the CD Side By Side, is credited to Waller on the CD - but it is, in fact, the Ellington tune. Is this the case on the LP? Did Ellington ever record the Waller tune - or are these all errors?
Andrew Homzy

The recordings on the LP and the CD, both titled "Side by Side" are identical. Track 2 in both cases is Squeeze Me, the composition by Fats Waller. Fats Waller is credited on the back of the jewel case, but not on the CD itself. Fats is not credited on the sleeve of the LP, but he is mentioned on the LP record label.
When 7 years ago the New DESOR was published, there was still only one recording known; the one on Verve of 26Feb59. In the past year two more recordings have popped up, made at Ciro's on 5Aug47, see DEMS 05/2-13 and as it was played by Ellington at Bob Udkoff's birthday party on 17Apr68, see DEMS 05/3-15.
Squeeze Me is totally different from Just Squeeze Me by Ellington, which was originally an instrumental titled Subtle Slough.
Sjef Hoefsmit

Newport 3Jul58

DEMS 06/2-28

See DEMS 02/3-17/2

I have a question concerning the Ellington Alumni concert at Newport 3Jul58 (02/3 DEMS 17/2).
Is there anyone (MC Willis Conover or a musician) announcing this title during the concert? Do you hear it on tape?
Hans-Joachim Schmidt

No. I have two tapes on which this selection is copied. On both tapes there is no mention of a title, either before or after the performance. It seems that many tapes have been copied in the past with the deletion of spoken parts. People preferred to have a tape with exclusively music. On one tape are five selections in a wrong and different order than the one mentioned by Carl Hällström in DEMS 02/1-16/5. On my tape as follows: C-Jam Blues, Concerto for Cootie, Rockin' in Rhythm, Chelsea Bridge and Unknown Title. On the other tape are only Chelsea Bridge and Unknown Title.
Sjef Hoefsmit

My tape is spliced, too. It seems to come from a collector who deleted what he did not like. It begins with the announcement of East St. Louis Toodle-Oo and Rockin' in Rhythm; what we get to hear is a few bars of East St. Louis Toodle-Oo, probably the very ending, and a complete Rockin' In Rhythm. Then New Concerto for Cootie is announced and played. The announcer calls Jeep Is Jumpin', Oscar Pettiford interrupts saying "We'd like to play the C Jam Blues", which follows. At the end the announcer says that time is running out and that next week there will be Chico Hamilton. So this is obviously from the broadcast. Then follow single recordings of Chelsea Bridge and Le Grand Romp. The sound is different, they seem to stem from another source.
There is a complete tape in the Library of Congress, but I am not going to ask for a copy. I am certain, though, that we would not get to hear Le Grand ROND. This all-French reading is due to the understanding of the French editor of the Disc-Ret LP, who did not know better than everyone else who had a tape and nothing else. So this is not really a source of information.
I'd like to propose the following reading: 4Jul1958 Legrand Romp.
Note: Library of Congress has Le grande romp , Lord Le grand romp , Disc-Ret LP Le Grand Rond for Legrand Romp. Robert S. Gold, Jazz Talk: "romp, according to jazzmen, current c.1917-c.1945, rare since. To play jazz or dance to jazz." - Michel Legrand had just finished recording his arrangements of classics like Wild Man Blues, Jitterbug Waltz, Rosetta, In A Mist for his LP "Legrand Jazz"(25, 27, 30Jun58); a romp through the history of jazz, indeed. Many of Oscar Pettiford's close associates were involved. Of the "Ellington Alumni" Ben Webster had been there (27Jun58). So this is probably an ad hoc tune by one of the group's members. The way it is played suggests that they learned it on the spot.
Note, too, that Disc-Ret has only the five tunes that are complete on the mutilated tape I described above.
Hans-Joachim Schmidt

I have another tape (this time without the Unknown Title, that's why I didn't mention it before). This tape contains the broadcast you are describing. The introduction was spoken by Mitch Miller (identified by Ellington, who thanked him). Duke's band played Take the "A" Train and Princess Blue. This is followed by a commercial for Virginia Dair Wine spoken by the former NY editor of Down Beat, Michael Lemon. After that Duke's Place is played. From here on the tape follows your description. The announcer was Mitch Miller, who also identified himself at the end of the broadcast.
I can support your suggestion to re-title the tune as Legrand Romp, but I insist on the date being 3Jul58 and not 4Jul.
I am unsure about the spelling of Virginia Dair and Michael Lemon. I only had my ears.
Sjef Hoefsmit

Canobie Lake Park

DEMS 06/2-29

See DEMS 03/2-9/2

I was reading your web page about Canobie (03/1-4/2). My father did a remote broadcast for WHDH Boston in 1939, 1940, 1941 from the Canobie Lake Park Ballroom in Salem, N.H. It was five nights a week Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. The orchestras were Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmie Lunceford and Duke Ellington. Would love to get a copy of his broadcast. I'm doing a website and would love to know the exact words he used when announcing Duke Ellington. The newspaper you got from the Library was probably the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune.
Pat MacDonald

We have recordings of four selections from 17Aug40. They have been released on the LP Everybodys 3005 and later on the CD Natasha Imports 4016. We have also copies of the recordings on tape. There are no spoken introductions or comments before or after the music. Sorry!
We are happy with your statement. It confirms (as Steven Lasker showed us in DEMS 03/2-9/2) that the date of 19Aug40 must be wrong, because that was a Monday.
DEMS

June 1964 – Japan – New Desor 6445 and 6450

DEMS 06/2-30

See DEMS 03/3-27, pages 379, 380 and 381.

I support Sjef Hoefsmit's suggestion that New Desor 6445 (concert in Kyoto) and 6450 "DE Swings Through Japan" may originate from the same day in Kyoto, 24Jun64; from two different performances.
The recordings indeed show differences as for instance the CW failure(?) at 1:54 on Black and Tan Fantasy during 6445b and the different piano introduction of Amad.
But: in order to check if this is correct (one concert 6445 at 7pm with a %1:31 presentation to the Japanese audience and ANOTHER - second, or earlier - performance 6450 used for the CBS-TV "DE Swings Through Japan") it would be of interest to know what kind of reference to "CBS television" the Japanese speaker made introducing 6445.
Is anyone able to translate the 6445 introduction from Japanese into English?
Klaus Götting

This is a splendid suggestion. We have immediately made a CD with everything we have of both concerts and we have sent copies to our Japanese friends. The sound quality is rather good. We have kept the original CD and if one of the DEMS Bulletin readers is interested in joining us in this research project (even if you don't understand Japanese), we will be happy to send you a copy. If you feel inclined to show your appreciation by sponsoring DEMS after you have listened to the CD, we will certainly not send your donation back to you.
DEMS

Here is the translation of the opening statement by the female speaker at the beginning of the recording, claimed to be from Kyoto on 24Jun64 [New DESOR 6445]:
"Now we are going to start Duke Ellington's special live concert in Kyoto supported by KCC, Onkyo & Yukan Kyoto Shinbun."
Note: KCC could be any of several companies which existed. I can't tell which one. Onkyo is an audio company. Kyoto Shinbun is a local newspaper in Kyoto.
Immediately after the lady-speaker came this male speaker saying: "Welcome to the concert. I'm Suehiro doing MC. The great musician Duke Ellington born in the United States…. or I'd rather call him the greatest artist in this century.
And this time he has come to Japan with a 15-piece band with the arranger Billy Strayhorn. Duke's music is well known by its specific sound we can't never listen in any other country. He is always saying 'My instruments are my orchestra'. Therefore the members can substitute his arms, mind and heart, then it makes his music as it is.
And tonight we can see two TV cameras in the auditorium. They are for the programme "20^th Century Records" by CBS, networking all over the world. This time they are spotlighting Duke's life and covering his Japanese tour. So I'd like you all to show the Japanese Jazz fan's enthusiasm to the world. Please clap your hands when you are supposed to do.
Here, let me introduce you to the good ol' Duke Ellington and his Orchestra."
Note: I don't know who Suehiro is, I just remember his voice. Maybe TV reporter or Jazz critic?
Here is the translation of the opening statement of the male speaker at the beginning of the soundtrack of "Duke Ellington Swings Through Japan" [New DESOR 6450]: "…… Please consider that point….. Now we've let you wait for so long….. Here comes Duke Ellington and his Orchestra."
Note: The MC is the same man: Mr. Suehiro, but definitely different comments.
Shinichi Iwama

Through the music of Depk, Walter Cronkite identified this 6450 recording as being the soundtrack of the documentary mentioned: "Duke Ellington Swings Through Japan". No mistake possible.
We may never know for sure what happened. For the time being I would conclude that there were two concerts on the same evening. During the first one, the cameras were rehearsing. During the second one they were actually shooting. When the music was heard over the images on screen, it seemed to be synchronously. That places the sessions 6445 and 6450 on the same date, 24Jun64 and at the same location, Kyoto
Sjef Hoefsmit

Johnny Hodges website

DEMS 06/2-31

The Johnny Hodges website has changed its location. It can now be accessed at www.geocities.com/johnny.hodges or www.tinyurl.com/zcv67.
Michael Palmer mpa11418@bigpond.net.au

Ride Red Ride

DEMS 06/2-32

Richard Ehrenzeller reported on 28May on the Duke-LYM list: "Intégrale Django Reinhardt Vol.20 Frémeaux & Associés FA 320 contains an unedited version of Django playing Ride, Red, Ride from the Ellington concert of 10Nov46. This new version of this recording is 2 minutes 44 seconds long. On the double CD, Duke Ellington-The Great Chicago Concerts MusicMasters 0162-65110-2, it is 2 minutes 16 seconds long. This is the only Ellington track on this new double CD."
It seems that in the first chorus the acetate was slightly damaged and that the producers of MusicMasters took out what according to the liner-notes of the Django Reinhardt double CD were 24 bars. I have tried to verify this number of bars, but with Django's music it was difficult to count. Comparison of the Frémeaux CD with the Prima LP DC 01, revealed that they both have exactly the same complete recording including the damaged parts in the first chorus. Comparison of the Frémeaux CD with the Ariston LP 12031 revealed that the recording on Ariston is a few bars longer still, and yet does not include the damaged parts of the acetate. This must have been achieved by taking out the damaged parts and making a joint with the result that a few bars were repeated, probably with the intention to compensate for the lost bars.
If you bought (like I did) a copy of the double CD Intégrale Django Reinhardt Vol.20, you will not regret it, because the music is exquisite. It seems to be the last volume of a 20 double CD series with the last recordings of Django before he died in 1953 (20 tracks), complementary recordings from 1935 until 1947 (12 tracks) and selections by family and friends (15tracks). Django's music always reminds me of the years of the second world war, when in our occupied country the music of the Hot Club de France was the only decent jazz music which was allowed to be broadcast. By the way, another very nice Django Reinhardt 6 CD set, covering the years 1936 until 1948 with 118 tracks is still available on Mosaic (MD6-190).
Sjef Hoefsmit

Ben Webster Sessionography

DEMS 06/2-33

Frank Büchmann-Møller's new biography on Ben Webster has no discography but refers to Heinz Baumeister's 2005 sessionography on Ben Webster. Baumeister is a collector of Webster music and his sessionography can be found on the web site of The Ben Webster Foundation (<http://www.benwebster.dk/>).
Baumeisters sessionography on Ben Webster differentiates itself from a discography by having limited the data on issues to the information "issued" or "unissued". By this the sessionography places itself in the gap between (certain) jazz historians and discographers and it is obviously geared to the interest of the oeuvre.
The sessionography has 202 pages, 160 of these are devoted to sessions, and the PDF file can be data processed. The compilation has references to other discographical surveys on Webster and is also supplied with indices on musicians, titles and a list of CD's, DVD's and VHS's.
The result of a limited comparison on the number of sessions with the information in Lord's discography showed that Baumeister had more sessions than Lord. The structure of Frank Büchmann-Møller's biography relies heavily on the chronology of Webster's oeuvre (discography) and Baumeisters sessionography is therefore an indispensable support to most readers.
Jørgen Mathiasen

My researching and collecting Ben Webster started in the early seventies after having heard him live several times.
In the late nineties I became friends with the late Karl Emil Knudsen (Storyville DK) and had the chance to stay several days at his home and study his extensive collection. He showed much interest in my work and made the proposal to issue it as a booklet under his JazzMedia Company when it was completed. Well, then much to my regret, he left us some years ago. After that the Storyville Company changed ownership and the new owners showed no interest at all in my work, although Anders Stefansen, the former product manager of Storyville, tried his best.
The next step was to try to include the Sessionography in the new biography – Ben Webster: Someone To Watch Over Me – written by my friend Frank Büchmann-Möller from Odense/DK. But the publisher did not accept our joint idea, arguing that the book would become too voluminous. By the way, the said biography has just recently been published and I can warmly recommend it. [See 06/2-8]
Knowing well that the possibilities for selling a work like mine in printed form is rather limited, I decided for myself that the easiest way to make it available to other people would be to distribute it as a CD. Most people nowadays have a PC themselves or other possibilities for using one. Therefore my idea is to sell either the Sessionography only, or plus the Private Discography, on CD for a price of Euro 20 including postage.
Heinz Baumeister

Heinz Baumeister has kindly sent us a CD with the two files. One is his Sessionography as described by Jørgen Mathiasen and the second is his Private Discography with the recordings in Heinz' private collection. Comparison revealed that his collection is almost complete. The Sessionography has quite some resemblance to the discography by Langhorn & Sjørgen, published 10 years ago, although Baumeister is more up to date.
If you are interested in Heinz' offer to send you a CD with his Sessionography (maybe with his Private Discography in case you would like to make exchanges with him) you can contact him by e-mail "Heinz Baumeister" heinz.baumeister@kolumbus.fi   or by normal mail to Gamla Mejerivägen 28, FIN-10210 INGÅ, Finland. His fax and phone number is 09-221 2060.
DEMS

Azalea

DEMS 06/2-34

See DEMS 06/1-11

With the help of Sjef Hoefsmit I have now listened to the 10 June 1947 Capitol Transcriptions recording of Azalea with Chester Crumpler, which has often been omitted from reissues of this series. Like the recently discovered 7 August version from Ciro’s [05/2-13], it starts with a 4-bar introduction by the band with Jimmy Hamilton’s clarinet. This is similar to the 4-bar passage interlude between Billy’s piano statement and Lloyd Oldham’s vocal on the December 1951 Columbia version.

Crumpler’s vocal; chorus follows. On 7 August this ends with the coda in which he repeats the song’s title, to conclude the recording. On the Capitol there’s a 3-bar passage (not 4 bars as stated in New DESOR). Next comes Shelton Hemphill’s 8-bar solo, a statement, Whetsel-style, of the A section of the melody. Crumpler then returns for a closing half-chorus BA, plus coda as at Ciro’s.

Comparing the two 1947 recordings it is easy to see how the Ciro’s performance was tidily shortened, simply by omitting the trumpet solo and avoiding the return of the vocal. But the Capitol is of little help in relating the 1951 recording, with its single bar from Willie Smith after the 4-bar intro, its solo piano passage, and its instrumental coda following the trumpet solo, to the 1947 one. We know from Walter’s comments that 19 bars were cut and the order of events on the MS score was changed. But we’d have to look at the manuscript itself to find out just how these changes were done, and why.

Roger Boyes

Ben Webster acetates

DEMS 06/2-35

You wrote in DEMS 05/2-34 that among the Ben Webster acetates is a 5 minutes recording of Body and Soul with vocal by Sonny Greer. That is not correct. There is no vocal on that recording. It is played by Ben Webster without accompaniment. It should also be noted that it did not come from the Ray Nance/Ben Webster session as released on AB Fable ABCD1-014. It came from a different acetate.
Anthony Barnett